Colectivo de Ayuda Fronteriza

07/20/2023

Al Jazeera documentary featuring Colectivo de Ayuda Fronteriza

Gofundme in comments

06/28/2023

Using the resources available to us so far, Frontera Aid Collective (FAC) has had tremendous success in our mission of providing crucial humanitarian support to people crossing the desert. Through our work, we have saved the lives of multiple people who would have otherwise died without interventions like ours.
One of the greatest obstacles facing Frontera Aid Collective has been the lack of consistent access to a reliable desert-use vehicle. In order to be as effective as possible, we need to be able to access remote locations where our help is most needed.
Considering this, we are proud to announce a monumental milestone: the acquisition of a 2008 4x4 Nissan Xterra for desert field work. Prior to our ownership, this hardy vehicle was used for humanitarian aid and was meticulously maintained by dedicated volunteers. This means that the chances of needing to pay for extensive maintenance will more than likely be limited.

The Nissan Xterra gives us the ability to:
-Place water in remote and otherwise unreachable areas
-Explore additional areas where help may be needed
-And most importantly, respond to a greater number of emergency search and rescue calls

While we have received occasional, and much appreciated, financial or other in-kind donations, we have never made a formal ask or solicitation for monetary support prior to now. In order to maintain and expand operations for this important and vital work, we have decided to humble ourselves and ask for help so that Frontera Aid Collective can continue moving forward.

Thank you to all those who have so generously supported Frontera Aid Collective in the past, with your time, in-kind, and monetary contributions.

Our current goal is to raise $1,000 by September 1, to offset insurance and fuel costs. We will keep you updated both on meeting this target and future exciting news coming soon. We appreciate your support, and hope you will consider making a contribution, of any size.

Gofundme here: https://www.gofundme.com/.../insurance-and-gas-for-facs...

Send a message to learn more

04/18/2023

Nothing short of murder. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason to kill the driver. And of course, the agent's immediate instinct is to lie.

Use of Force Incident, Sasabe, Arizona. March 14, 2023. Body Worn Camera Video Release. Press Release: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/use-force-incident-leaves-one-man-dead-following-pursuit-suspected

03/29/2023

🚩 | Un incendio en un centro de detención de migrantes en el norte de México dejó al menos 39 mu***os, según un comunicado del Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) citado por AFP. La mayoría eran migrantes venezolanos, según autoridades locales.

El siniestro ocurrió en un centro del INM en Ciudad Juárez, situado cerca de la frontera con Estados Unidos. Aparentemente el fuego se produjo tras una quema de colchones y varias personas se quedaron personas atrapadas en la instalación.

El incendio se desató poco antes de la medianoche, lo que causó una intensa movilización de bomberos y de decenas de ambulancias.

Más detalles 👉 http://uni.vi/oGyL104AskL

03/20/2023

Full Open Letter to the US Border Patrol in link.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AJdxfSZz9nYtEwZOtTIzVrrEgEYP5R-wq6xBjkPqMTw/edit

"On February 16, 2023, a young Guatemalan man named “Martín” was left stranded in the Arizona desert. Injured and close to death, he called Border Patrol for help.
Martín provided them with his exact coordinates and waited in freezing temperatures for three days with nothing but a trash bag for shelter.
They never came.
Desperate, Martín’s family contacted various search organizations for help. They all contacted Border Patrol, who told them that an independent search was not necessary, as they were on their way.
The SAR groups had no way of knowing that BP was lying.
They had no intention to rescue Martín.
On the third day, a group of volunteers hiked out to Martín’s location. They found him injured and in shock but were able to safely extract him.
The volunteers encountered multiple BP agents in the field, all of them expressing that they knew exactly where Martín was. They even flew a helicopter over him but determined that he was not “close enough to death” for rescue.
Martín’s case is not an isolated incident. Something needs to change."

03/05/2023

https://gofund.me/bdd45e5a
Border Patrol failed Martin and he nearly died as a result. And the unfortunate truth is that the majority of people crossing the desert who are stranded die because of BP's utter disregard for human life. We have known for years about how border policy is deadly by nature, but this case highlights how it is murderous by design.

During the weekend of February 16th, 17th and 18th, various humanitarian … Scott Eichling needs your support for Guatemalan Man in Need after Neglected by BP

03/05/2023

02/20/2023

In collaboration with other humanitarian groups, Frontera Aid Collective conducted a successful SAR operation this weekend. This is not being posted to show off or brag, but to shed light on the current state of inhumanity ingrained into Border Patrol operations. Anyone who works in borderlands humanitarian work inevitably witnesses BP’s cruelty, but this case left us especially shocked and disgusted.
Border Patrol deliberately left a man to die in the desert, despite having the resources to save him.
Multiple humanitarian groups including FAC reached out to BP dozens of times and made the agency aware of the man’s EXACT location. On top of that, they were informed that he was stranded and could not move due to his poor and deteriorating state.
The nonchalant, disrespectful and irresponsible attitudes during interactions with BP left those involved in a state of disgust and distrust with the agency. One caller reporting updated information was literally laughed at by a BP dispatcher. Another agent in the field even pointed to the hill where the stranded man was and offered insight to the SAR team how to get to him- indicating that they weren’t unable but unwilling to rescue him.
We are currently compiling a comprehensive list of all interactions between BP and humanitarian groups concerning this case. In the meantime, FAC wants to offer its sincerest gratitude for The Abolitionists and Tucson Samaritans for their work and support in this case. Their continued commitment to borderlands humanitarian work and competency in the field is nothing but inspiring.

02/20/2023

Letter written by an activist regarding a recent search and rescue operation. More to come on this case:

"Yesterday I was part of a successful and dramatic search and rescue operation in which BP, with exact coordinates verified by helicopter, repeatedly and deliberately left a young Guatemalan man to die in the Baboquivari mountains. Agents we spoke to verbally admitted as much.

I am a volunteer with No More Deaths, Tucson Samaritans, and Frontera Aid Collective. A loose network of individuals with very limited SAR experience went out after dozens of 911 and BP calls went unanswered. The rescued man (as well as our group) saw multiple helicopters reach him and then disappear. The agent I spoke with, who eventually apprehended the man, said that they are "too busy with the checkpoints" to perform rescues. He also said that they will only perform a rescue if the person is "near death." If either of you are in Arizona right now you know that these nights were freezing in Tucson, which means they were much colder where he was left. When we arrived there was still ice on the ground. With only a trash bag for shelter for three nights I'm not sure how much closer to death they wanted him.

The man in question did everything right, calling 911 repeatedly and not moving from his very visible location, depending upon BP to find him. Without the hope of rescue he would have likely moved on.

Many SAR groups more experienced than us were notified, all of whom called Border Patrol and decided that their work was done. With no follow-up from BP, there was no way to know that he was still out there in the cold, slowly dying. Over the course of three days we repeatedly, and with the knowledge of BP, trespassed on private property and risked our lives to attempt to save this young man, at times in the dark.

The issue here is that Borstar, which has no transparency, not only is criminally ineffective, but also prevents SAR groups from performing a search, and even falsely leads them to believe that an effective search was already carried out, when all they did was fly over him and decide he wasn't dead enough. And they will assuredly take credit for a successful rescue operation, now that he has been returned alive.

Our various groups put a lot of resources into bringing water out into the desert, but it is now clear to me that many more lives could be saved by making Borstar accountable or by eliminating them entirely.

We are interested in writing an open letter with a list of concrete demands to spread among social justice and other organizations, and we are also hoping that we can find journalists who can write to make this situation more public. I think our case is a case study in everything that is wrong with BPs so-called humanitarian efforts and that it's worth sharing."

07/04/2022

07/04/2022

07/04/2022

Migrant Terrain Survey and Recovery ha cambiado oficialmente su nombre a Colectivo de Auida Fronteriza (CAF), o Frontera Aid Collective. Esta decisión se tomó como grupo para reflejar con mayor precisión las actividades en las que nos hemos involucrado desde nuestra fundación hace un año y medio.

Al formar el grupo, nuestro enfoque principal era más limitado. Realizábamos búsquedas generales en áreas remotas con la esperanza de encontrar personas que necesiten ayuda desesperadamente. Además, buscabamos activamente a los que no sobrevivieron. Estas misiones siempre serán centrales en nuestras actividades, pero la realidad de la crisis en la frontera ha demandado que usemos nuestros recursos para responder a situaciones urgentes. Las operaciones de búsqueda y rescate y las misiones de distribución de agua salvan vidas, y siempre responderemos a estas misiones cuando podamos. También hemos iniciado un programa de advocacia de la familia, donde representaremos a las familias de las personas desaparecidas y haremos llamadas e informes a las agencias gubernamentales pertinentes.
Hemos cambiado gran parte de nuestro enfoque para colaborar con otros grupos humanitarios. El desarrollo de una red de voluntarios activos en múltiples organizaciones es una estrategia muy eficaz para ayudar a los migrantes y sus familias.
Si un familiar o amigo suyo desapareció en el desierto de Arizona, comuníquese con nosotros a través de messenger o envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected]. Haremos todo lo posible para ayudarlo

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Migrant Terrain Survey and Recovery has officially changed its name to Frontera Aid Collective (FAC), or Colectivo de Ayuda Fronteriza. This decision was made as a group to more accurately reflect the activities we’ve engaged in since our founding a year and a half ago.
When we first got rolling, our primary focus was more limited. We mostly conducted general searches in remote areas in hopes of encountering people who may be in desperate need of help. On top of that, we also actively searched for the remains of those who did not make it. These missions will always be central to our activities, but the reality of the crisis on the border has demanded that we use our resources to respond to urgent situations. Search and Rescue operations and water drop missions literally save lives, and we will always respond to the call when we can. We have also initiated a family advocacy program, where we will represent the families of missing people and make calls and reports to relevant government agencies.
We have shifted much of our focus to include more collaboration with other humanitarian groups. Developing a network of dedicated volunteers active in multiple organizations has proven to be an effective strategy to aid migrants and their families.
If a loved one of yours went missing in the Arizona desert, please reach out to us via messenger or email [email protected] We will do everything we can to help.

07/04/2022

02/14/2022

Met a little desert critter on a search today!

01/20/2022

The MTSR page has not been updated in a while, but this does not mean we have been inactive. In fact, we have been very busy. We have conducted many successful searches, including multiple search and rescues.
The more active we are in the field, the more in awe we are the work done by groups such as Tucson Samaritans, Ajo Samaritans, and No More Deaths, just to name a few.

Even as active as we and other groups have been, people continue to die in the desert. In 2021 alone, the Arizona Open GIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants reported 226 deaths (https://humaneborders.info/app/map.asp). The actual number of deaths is likely much higher. This is not acceptable. The work that activist groups do is important, however it is by no means a solution- incremental governmental policy is not enough and only a complete overhaul of economic policies and social attitudes towards the border will be effective. It is doubtful this will happen anytime soon, yet borderlands activism can make differences on individual levels. For that reason, MTSR continues to look for volunteers.

Field work volunteers must be able to hike distances of up to 12 miles. They must also understand that they may encounter some upsetting and possibly traumatic scenes. General searches are normally scheduled on weekends and often require camping out.

Other volunteer work that is needed is for MTSR’s advocacy program. When a person disappears in the desert, families are often left feeling like they are not taken seriously by the government agencies responsible for borderlands policy. They are frequently subjected to xenophobic, racist, and sexist government representatives who are willing to do little to help people who are in tremendous pain. Volunteer advocates help the families and loved-ones of missing people navigate through government bureaucracy by making various phone calls to multiple agencies across county and state lines. Since this program began, MTSR volunteers have made hundreds of phone calls to sheriffs’ departments, CBP and Border Patrol stations, Medical Examiners offices, hospitals and others.

If interested in volunteering, please contact us through messenger or email, [email protected]

Arizona OpenGIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants, a resource developed by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (Pima County OME) in partnership with Humane Borders, Inc.